at&t Vibrant with 3g

[drewawilliams]

Anyone on here using their vibrant on AT&T solely? haven't been able to find much info on doing so and if the 3g works everywhere or just in the areas that have the 1900 band. also what they use for their data plan. just looking for a few answers from people that are doing this or have first hand experience please.

 

[Video_freak]

I do not have first hand experience, but have heard that the Vibrant does work with ATT 3g. I'm assuming you will need either their very limited $15 dollar a month plan, or the unlimited data plan. Doesn't ATT only use the 1900 band for 3g though?

 

[Elite GunnerX]

I am using At&t with a Vibrant. Yes I get 3g in the central Texas area and yes I have the unlimited $10 data plan for dumbphones

Note: I think the $10 internet plan is only $10 if you have the family unlimted texting plan

 

[drewawilliams]

thanks Elite GunnerX! how long have you used it? and have you used a lot of data in a month?

and you have had 3g everywhere you have been?

 

[SamsungVibrant]

Anyone on here using their vibrant on AT&T solely? haven't been able to find much info on doing so and if the 3g works everywhere or just in the areas that have the 1900 band. also what they use for their data plan. just looking for a few answers from people that are doing this or have first hand experience please.

Hey, just wanted to clear something up. At&t uses two 3G bands, one is 1900, the other is 850. At&t is updating its network to 850.

The Vibrant works on 1900 for certain, there is controversey about 850. The Vibrant has FCC clearance for 1900, but not 850. You can use a code to force the phone into 850 band, however there is controversey surrounding this, some say it will not pick up the 850 band even if you try to force it.

I suggest you double check with reliable sources before you dive into At&t on Vibrant.

PS...you should also find out what 3G band At&t uses in the areas you frequent most. If in your area, the network is 1900, then you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[Djidea]

I just got my wife an unlocked vibrant and we are on at&t. She used to have the Samsung eternity with the unlimited dumb phone family data plan which is $10. She is still using the dumb phone plan and everything is working great. She's gets 3G just about everywhere. She uses a lot of data also. Almost 2GB just from watching YouTube. There have been some instances where she would get edge but it would jump back to 3G. And yes I also went to the hidden menu to try And enable the 850 band. It says its enabled but I'm not sure its really working. I read in the Howard forums that it might just be a false positive. But it does show the 850 and the 1900 bands. I didn't have to enable the 1900 band, seems like its enabled out of the box. But she likes it. One thing I did notice is that it has a faster upload speed every time when I ran the speed test compared to my captivate. Weird being that I'm on both 850 and 1900. Maybe the 1900 band has better speed on upload. Who knows? But she loves her phone.

This is where I found my info and the way to get into the hidden menu. Good luck.

Samsung Vibrant has UMTS 850mhz and 1900mhz bands too. Works on ATT 3g..

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1662409-Samsung-Vibrant-T-Mobile-*AND*-ATT-3g-capable!

And here is a link to the 850/1900 map for at&t. Its the only one that I can find.

http://www.cellularmaps.com/att_850_1900.shtml

 

[gilgehmesh]

I just got my wife an unlocked vibrant and we are on at&t. She used to have the Samsung eternity with the unlimited dumb phone family data plan which is $10. She is still using the dumb phone plan and everything is working great. She's gets 3G just about everywhere. She uses a lot of data also. Almost 2GB just from watching YouTube. There have been some instances where she would get edge but it would jump back to 3G. And yes I also went to the hidden menu to try And enable the 850 band. It says its enabled but I'm not sure its really working. I read in the Howard forums that it might just be a false positive. But it does show the 850 and the 1900 bands. I didn't have to enable the 1900 band, seems like its enabled out of the box. But she likes it. One thing I did notice is that it has a faster upload speed every time when I ran the speed test compared to my captivate. Weird being that I'm on both 850 and 1900. Maybe the 1900 band has better speed on upload. Who knows? But she loves her phone.

This is where I found my info and the way to get into the hidden menu. Good luck.

Samsung Vibrant has UMTS 850mhz and 1900mhz bands too. Works on ATT 3g..

The reason why your wife's upload speed is better on her Vibrant on ATT is probably because HSPUA on the Captivate has been disabled by default by ATT. I don't know why... to give iPhone another plus? Here is a thread explaining how to enable that back:

http://androidforums.com/samsung-captivate/137436-how-enable-hsupa-captivate.html

 

[Elite GunnerX]

thanks Elite GunnerX! how long have you used it? and have you used a lot of data in a month?

and you have had 3g everywhere you have been?

I have had it now for about 3weeks to a month....

Last month i used 1.5gb (in 5 days ) It was right at the end of the billing cycle right before i got the phone and i had just gone on a trip to Lubbock, TX so i using my phone constantly. As for this month ive used about a 1.2gb of data so far in about 20 days.

So far every major city that i've been in i've had 3g coverage...
And if i did get only get edge speeds i was not the only one.
other people with native at&t phones also only got edge speeds

 

[drewawilliams]

Thanks everyone, this is great (if somewhat young) information. I hope to get a vibrant as soon as i can!

 

[cubensis]

Can anyone give me some insight as to what is happening/going on with my service?

I am an AT&T customer, as well as my brother. I have an unlocked Vibrant, and he has a unlocked T-Mobile Blackberry. We get no signal in the house, his phone displays emergency only, and my phone, well it's a bit weird.
YouTube - Samsung Galaxy S signal problems indoors.
3-4 bars indoor but I can't make/receive any calls or texts. Once I drive out of the area my phone works fine.

I am not subscribed to any data services, and i am using the program APNdroid to block the connections. I called AT&T and they said to try an official AT&T branded phone.

I have an unlocked Nokia N82 and an unlocked Motofone F9 and neither of them work indoors. I put a T-mobile unlocked SIm inside and they all work fine. So maybe it is signal related? I know i am new here but someone help me out I have $10 for a decent, acceptable explanation, I am trying to avoid buying an AT&T phone just to test this theory out.

 

[drewawilliams]

without a little more information the only answer I can think of is that signal is displayed by signal strength, not signal quality, so even tho you have 3 bars, it might be such a dirty signal that it wont allow connection.

here are a couple questions that could help us know whats going on better...
have you swapped sims with your brother?

have you ever had an at&t phone work in your home?

also does the phone say that it is on at&t or tmobile?

do you have large overhead powerlines nearby?

 

[cubensis]

without a little more information the only answer I can think of is that signal is displayed by signal strength, not signal quality, so even tho you have 3 bars, it might be such a dirty signal that it wont allow connection.

here are a couple questions that could help us know whats going on better...
have you swapped sims with your brother?

have you ever had an at&t phone work in your home?

also does the phone say that it is on at&t or tmobile?

do you have large overhead powerlines nearby?

I tried swapping sims with my brother and I still couldn't get a signal.

I haven't owned an official AT&T phone since we moved here (2 months). At least for me, the phones worked fine, albeit with little signal. Over time I kept on getting "sim registration failed" errors on my N82, I figured it was either the phone going bad or the SIM, once I would reboot the problems would go away for a little while. eventually the service would degrade to this point.

The phone says it's on AT&T.

No large powerlines. There are some electrical cables going to the house in the backyard though.

 

[Mide]

I just got my Vibrant last week and I'm using AT&T with an Unlimited iPhone plan. 3G in Reno, NV. Not sure what band it is but it works well and fast.

 

[cubensis]

I purchased an AT&T prepaid phone tonight. Same issues. I am in an AT&T dead zone, T-mobile works fine here. since i am on contract I guess i will be purchasing a microcell soon.

 

[carmendiva]

I'm glad to know that I am not the only one who had issues with my galaxy s phone.

Hopefully microcell will work

 

[carmendiva]

I'm glad to know that I am not the only one who had issues with my galaxy s phone.

Hopefully microcell will work

 

[misterrunon]

hm, so is the $10 dumbphone data plan still available.. or has it been phased out like tmobile's t-zones? i might actually switch over to att, since my mom and sister are using that network.

 

[Djidea]

hm, so is the $10 dumbphone data plan still available.. or has it been phased out like tmobile's t-zones? i might actually switch over to att, since my mom and sister are using that network.

Well they have the $15 dumb phone data plan on an individual plan. But if your on a family plan the dump phone data plan is only $10 a month. That's what my wife is using on her vibrant on at&t. Works great so far. 3G almost everywhere.

 

[misterrunon]

Well they have the $15 dumb phone data plan on an individual plan. But if your on a family plan the dump phone data plan is only $10 a month. That's what my wife is using on her vibrant on at&t. Works great so far. 3G almost everywhere.

ah awesome.. my family's on the at&t network, so i plan to do this. is there a cap or is it unlimited?

 

[Djidea]

ah awesome.. my family's on the at&t network, so i plan to do this. is there a cap or is it unlimited?

No cap that I have ever experienced. My wife sometimes goes over 2 GB. She would stream video and audio all the time.

 

[misterrunon]

so in reality the most cost effective way to get a phone with a data plan is to purchase one off craigslist (off-carrier.. like tmo and use it on att) and use the $10 plan. i think in the end it all adds up.

 

[Djidea]

so in reality the most cost effective way to get a phone with a data plan is to purchase one off craigslist (off-carrier.. like tmo and use it on att) and use the $10 plan. i think in the end it all adds up.

I got my wife the vibrant off of Craigslist and unlocked it. She had the dumb phone data plan from her old phone so it was Just pop in the sim card and go. Figured I'm saving $15 a month compared to the $25 2GB data plan. Pretty good savings when you figure for the whole year.

 

[misterrunon]

I got my wife the vibrant off of Craigslist and unlocked it. She had the dumb phone data plan from her old phone so it was Just pop in the sim card and go. Figured I'm saving $15 a month compared to the $25 2GB data plan. Pretty good savings when you figure for the whole year.

ah you were probably one of those guys in orange county competing with me for the vibrant.. took me a while to score my phone.

how much did you score the phone for? i got mine for $250.. just the phone itself. no battery, door, or accessories. it was a decent deal.

 

[Djidea]

ah you were probably one of those guys in orange county competing with me for the vibrant.. took me a while to score my phone.

how much did you score the phone for? i got mine for $250.. just the phone itself. no battery, door, or accessories. it was a decent deal.

LOL! I almost pick one of those up. But I managed to find someone that had a vibrant in like new shape. He had it just shy of a month. Sold it to me for $300 with box and everything like it was new. Avatar movie on SD card and all. Just no head phones. It had a silicone cover and a screen protector also. I did see a lot of them on Craigslist with no battery or back cover. But they come with two covers when you get them brand new. I thought about getting one for me and selling my captivate and going back to the $10 unlimited data plan again. I have the extra cover and a extra battery so if I did find another for 200-250 I Might just do that.

 

[cowppl]

How do I get the $10 unlimited plan. I did not see it on the website. If I go to an at&t store, do I just ask for the $10 unlimited plan. I am on tmobile but not on contract with them and without a data plan. Do I need to be on contract with at&t or can I be on month to month.